


Festival of Hatchlings

by Guard1ans, PhenomJak



Series: Isle of Misfits [3]
Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, One Shot, Snoggletog (How to Train Your Dragon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 17:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22467379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guard1ans/pseuds/Guard1ans, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhenomJak/pseuds/PhenomJak
Summary: Henry is thrust into a new tradition when frankly, the poor homesick runaway wanted nothing than to just pretend Snoggletog and anything Winter fun didn't exist. Now he has to do what?
Series: Isle of Misfits [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1292609
Kudos: 7





	Festival of Hatchlings

“Good morning, little brother!”

Henry groaned as the fire basket in the middle his room at the temple bursted with light as Elizabeth touched a torch to the embers. He turned in bed, back to the cheery flames, willing himself to go back to sleep.

He had been at his newly minted apprenticeship. Ace needed him to organize notes and sharpen quills until late. Not to mention deliver the minutes from last council meeting, copy the agenda for the next, get the food supply manifest for winter, and finally get Toothless his regular flying exercise.

Needless to say he did NOT want to get up. Especially today of all days!

Not even if Odin came down to Sunset and asked to speak to him personally. Henry was not moving from this bed.

However it was a message that the priestess didn’t receive or ignored.

“Well someone is being a grumpy liddle dragon.” She cooed as she flowed across the room to the bed.

“Go away...” he grumbled, shooing away with his hand and turning over.

“Sister...”

Henry’s eyes popped open.

“He not getting out of bed?”

“Like usual.”

“Alright....he brought it on himself.”

“Well, would you look at the time! Tooth must be starving!”

The teen immediately shot out of bed, grabbing his shoes on the way, only to be caught by the collar of his vest.

Okay maybe Odin couldn’t get out of bed but the simple implied threat of grabbing buckets of snow and dousing him or pulling every blanket off one at a time would.

What could he say, they knew effective ways to get people to do stuff.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

“Sorry, baby brother, but....no chores today.” The blond priestess sang.

“Come on, I got things to-wha?”

He was dropped.

“Today is the hatchling festival!”

“...The what?”

Frankly he wouldnt put it past Elizabeth to make up a holiday. Riley however began to explain,

“Henry, during this particular time of year is the height of the wild dragon mating cycle. For three days, the dragons migrate, find mates, and of course make eggs. And for us humans, you and all the children have a very special job to do.”

“I’m 15. Not exactly a kid anymore.” Said teen pointed out.

“But not 18 yet.” Elizabeth added with a giggle.

“Oh hush. Because of the festival and what you need to do, no chores. We will take care of Toothless and all your duties until you return.”

“Return? From what? What’da mean you’ll take care of Toothless?”

“HENRYYY!” A voice called from the atrium of the temple. Crys’ voice.

“If you don’t hurry up, dad’ll make the boat leave without ya!”

“Boat? What boat?”

He didn’t get his answer as he was thrusted out, slightly dizzy, onto the cold steps of the temple in his wool pants, new boots he didn’t notice were on his feet until he looked down, fresh forest green tunic, and a bear fur cloak with matching mittens and hat.

Not that Henry was really paying attention but then again, being dressed by those two like he was an oversized straw doll was getting to be a normal occurrence.

Sunset had just received a fresh coat of frost and snow during the night. And as usual for winter on the verge of devastating, it was cold.

Crys, in a large all fur coat and hat that made her look like she was drowning against the belly of a gigantic wolf bounced on her heels and grabbed hold of him before he had much of a time to register anything.

“About time, come on!”

“For what! Why is there a ship involved?” Henry asked, now being dragged by the hand.

What was he today, a sled? This was getting ridiculous!

“Well we gotta follow the dragons somehow and it’s easier by ship than dragon to carry a lot of kiddos.”

“Oh for the love of Odin and his all seeing eye, will someone tell me what is going on!”

Crys stopped and looked at him, letting go briefly.

“...You seriously don’t know yet? Ugh sorry, Hic-I mean, Henry.”

She turned away slighty embarrassed.

“It’s my favorite day of the year! We get to bring home dragon babies!”

Henry just stared.

“WE’RE WHAT?!”

Turned out, what he had just heard was not just a crazy idea that was pitched by the baby dragon loving heiress or by his crazy but loving new sisters.

All the children under 18 and over 6 were to board a set of ships with no supervision, an idea insane in and of itself the former viking believed, and follow a guide dragon to Nesting Ground Springs, what Ace jokingly called the warmest spot in the archipelago in his little farewell address to them all, throughly ignoring Henry’s questions and confusion.

There they would see where most of the dragons they knew and loved went for the winter and stay for a few days before helping with the return migration of the island’s dragons and any dragon willing to run away from the queen.

What was not told to him when Nick and Yuichi helped raise anchor and they started to set off, Nightmare being the guide and currently wrapped around one of the masts, was that he and the others had one job as they have come of age.

They had to babysit the rest of them.

It felt like getting forced into dragon training all over again.

“You are joking, right? Please tell me you are.” Henry begged Nix who simply shrugged.

“I have to basically deal with kids every day helping mom out. Not that big of a deal, Hen.”

The former viking ran his hands down his face.

“...Didn’t get a lot of respect from the little ones back home, I take it.”

“No...well, yes, but-oh gods, why does it have to be this? Today? I wanted to pretend...”

“Oh, quit whining.” Ryuu snapped, now getting agitated.

“Ryuu, not helping.” The red head hissed as Henry sat down on the nearest crate.

“Is your birthday today, Henry?”

He shook his head.

“It’s...complicated. Plain fact is that it’s not a good time to spring this on me. And well....I’ve been....getting homesick.”

He had been taking all the extra work and favors to keep his mind off it.

“Hen, why didn’t you say anything? That’s why you’ve been working yourself into the ground, isn’t it?” Crys asked.

The heir huffed.

“As punishment-“

Henry stiffened at the word.

“Attention! Attention everybody!”

She hauled herself up onto a crate as all the young kids gathered around, no more than a couple dozen.

“We all heard my dad’s speal about yadda yadda how important this all is, so I’m not going to repeat it. But as we are now outside of sight of every adult, parent, guardian, and over the age of 18.....Time to crown the kings of the boat! Every first timer front and center!”

“Wait-WHAT!” The former viking shouted for what seemed the umpteenth time.

He was thrusted bodily up front of the tikes to stand with a couple six year olds, face red with embarrassment.

The wicked grin on Crys’ face was not helping.

But it was soon made worse by Nix jamming a crudely made wooden crown onto his head, Rhika setting similar ones on the others heads.

“Your majesties.” Crys stated, bowing deeply. The entire ship erupted into giggles.

“As your humble servant I will now tell the tale that was told to me by my grandmother of how the hatchling festival was established.”

She fell into a sitting position and cleared her throat.

“When Sunset was young and winter came to our island, our homes were not stiff stone and wood but shacks made from shipwrecks and drift wood. Many of our grandparents and guardians were used to much warmer climates and they struggled to keep warm and fed. They had no idea that the cold could be so demanding and dangerous. All except one man. The first viking on Sunset.”

Henry blinked and paused. He knew he wasn’t the first viking but someone from the archipelago were part of the first people on Sunset? When was he going to be told this information?

“His name was Jawbreaker. Jawbreaker the Loud from the tribe we know as the Berserkers.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw the cousins both shine in pride and slump in sadness.

“That’s a funny name.” One of the little ones replied. Many trilled with laughter at the thought.

“Yeah well, something about their names scaring trolls or along those lines. Not the point. Anyway, Jawbreaker was getting frankly sick of the misery and hopelessness so one morning everyone woke up to the sound of banging and hammering. When they looked outside, a great tower of wood was being hammered on by Jawbreaker and he stated in a loud voice, “WE NEED A LITTLE SNOGGLETOG AROUND HERE!”

Henry’s jaw dropped. Snoggletog? They know it? The holiday that celebrated the temporary onset of peace during winter when there were no dragon raids. A viking helped start this hatchling festival?

Oh his brain felt like it was going to explode with all this new information. He really needed to sit down.

“‘Course no one knew what snoggletog was or what the man was talking about, so Jawbreaker explained. Winter is a time of peace for the Viking world. So they gather together and build mock trees and pin shields to them, and decorate their villages and when winter is about to be its coldest, they throw a humongous party! And who can say no to a party, right? So all the adults got together and began to work on decorating and gathering their food to celebrate. What you might ask? Well, for being alive. They had come from all over the world to be free and they all decided that a little bit of cold wasn’t gonna stop them from making it. “But Crys!” I can hear you all think, “What does that have to do with all of us going in a boat to who knows where?” Well that’s where it gets good.”

Crys’ grin got even bigger.

“Our governor, my father, was six at the time. That’s right, your age.”

She got down onto the deck and booped one of the crowned children on the nose.

“He always liked to follow and watch dragons. And one day during the decoration and hunting, my father decided he was bored of watching people and wanted to go to his favorite spot, a little clearing near the mountains where he had seen a Torchback and some of her kids. He trudged through the forest and went behind the bushes to watch them like he usually did, but he saw that they were acting strangely. Now my grandmother before this, didn’t let him outside very much during the winter, especially not wander far enough to watch dragons, so this was completely new to him. The mama Torchback had all her now pretty big kids eating from this pile of fish, much bigger than a usual meal they’d have, before one by one, they took off into the sky.”

And master was involved too in this? Explains the grin he had when they set off.

“Now my dad figured that they had to be going somewhere right? So he raced back to town, grabbed what little provisions he could scavenge, and went down to the harbor. My aunt, his older sister, who was helping, tore after him. For those who don’t know, our governor has a tendency to get himself hurt.”

Henry rolled his eyes. They had no idea.

“And just managed to make it aboard one of the new fishing ships that my grandfather had acquired as my father pushed off, with the current and breeze with him in another, though older, vessel. The one we just happen to be on in fact.”

The children cooed with wonder and a few older ones rolled their eyes.

“Well why do you think this boat has more scorch marks than paint, hmm? But digressing. My aunt followed my father for an entire day and night as he followed the Torchbacks. When they got to the fogbank, my aunt managed to catch up to the other ship and lash their boats together, bow to hull. Like what we have now-“

She pointed to the thick and aged rope that kept the second vessel connected to the one they were on, though it looked more like decoration than anything. The boats seemed to be now eternally bound by wood bracing and bolts as well as some mechanism encompassing the rudder controls, Henry now strangely remembering Boom asking him to make quite a few that fall but he figured it was for some new construction project.

“And got on deck to yell at my father for going so far and well, pretty much everything else you’d expect an older sibling to yell about. But then...the fog cleared.”

She then sat up straight.

“And to get the ending, everyone gotta pull their weight and listen to their leader. And the kings of the boat have the most important job! The box if you don’t mind, Yuichi?”

The response was getting brained with a small red chest and her barely keeping it and herself from falling overboard.

“Really? What I do to you?”

Yuichi just pointed at Ryuu as while the story was going, the two had been playing catch with said item, having heard the tale a dozen or more times.

Crys groaned and handed Henry the box, checking her nose for any bleeding.

He opened it to show a map and compass.

“The three of you are to navigate. Ika’s group is to make food, Nick’s is to steer, Yuichi...you guys are to make sure we don’t hit anything, and Ryuu’s are to keep an eye out on the horizon in case of trouble. Me...well, once I stop bleeding, will be up top in the nest watching Nightmare and the weather helping the kings. We’ll drop anchor when it’s time for meals and sleep. We all clear? Anyone get any dumb ideas, remember we have a brig. You’ll be staying there the entire trip and virtues help you when we get back home. Right...Johnson?”

A ten year old started whistling innocently.

“What I thought.”

The viking was not looking forward to this as he peaked over the map at the other “kings”. He was parts embarrassed, anxious, and flat out done with this bull and wanted to go back to bed.

One of the two six year olds, a girl, holding tight to her dragon doll looked up at him. Her eyes brightened.

“You’re the one who came with the big black dragon!”

Henry immediately stiffened. Of all the things to remember him by had to be the dragon.

“Well uh, ya see WHAT THE!-“

Suddenly a large and heavy weight pinned him to the deck, followed by the throaty howl he knew all too well.

Toothless was sitting on him and didn’t look like he wanted to move any time soon.

“Gumless!” Crys shouted.

The dragon raised his hackles to show how wrong she was.

“Well, I’m sorry I can’t remember your name off the top of my head! How the heck did you get in the hold anyway. Nightmare, did you let him on when my back is turned?”

The other Skyrunner looked just as confused and shook her head.

“Owwww. Tooth I need my spine, please get off.” The runaway whined.

“I didn’t know the entire thing was happening until this morning!”

Henry felt his hair being ruffled by Toothless’ sniffing, trying to discern the truth before begrudging get himself off his rider.

“Guys...I think I need some help...”

Henry then spent the rest of the day propped up with furs and every comfortable thing on board (even a few stuffed animals much to his shame and others delight) and tried to do his best to help his fellow “kings” through the pain of squashed organs and bones.

Toothless, the fink, sat in a corner, throughly uncomfortable with being on a boat and since a certain someone thought it was a good idea to do adjustments to the new flying rig, couldn’t get up in the air. Thankfully his fellow Skyrunner didn’t bring up the latter and merely teased that, as usual, he didn’t think his plan through.

He bit back that leaving the protection of the alpha was a terrible idea in the first place! He had to protect his human from the foolishness!

Then as dusk began to settle, they came to the fog.

“Going in now would be bad! Lot of shipwrecks in there and we need all the light we can get!” Ryuu shouted.

“Then we drop anchor and get everyone ready for bed. You all did a fantastic job! Remember if you have any problems falling asleep or anything, you tell one of us okay. No shame in it. Rhika has cookies and milk down below so-“

The rush of kids for the snack interrupted Crys mid speech and faster than you can say dragon raid, the deck of the ship was empty sans the teens.

“Well this...has to be the strangest tradition I’ve...ever been apart of.” Henry groaned as Nightmare touched down from her circling.

“I did see your face when I mentioned Snoggletog. Is that what you’re missing?”

The runaway sighed as the heir came over to the back of the boat.

“It’ll...it’ll be the first. I didn’t want to think about...home. How they are reacting, if they are reacting to me being gone. Dad at least...he didn’t have an excuse to be off the island during the winter. Wasn’t great but...”

Henry sniffed and wiped at his eyes. Toothless crooned and nudged him, purring.

“You got us now right? Better than spending the holidays alone. No offense Jawless.”

Nightmare snickered as the other dragon’s earflaps dropped and hackles were raised.

“Toothless.” Henry corrected.

“Right. Keep forgetting.”

“You’re still mad at him?”

“Little bit.”

Crys flopped next to him.

“Dad said it wouldn’t be fair for you not to see them, make you think we don’t trust you with one of Sunset’s biggest secrets. Wouldn’t be right.”

“...You guys really started this because of Snoggletog?” Henry then asked, curling up and looking out in the distance.

“Oh yeah! Ika and Nick’s grandpa was that kinda guy ya know. I don’t remember much of him before he passed...he died in the same battle my grandpa and a lot of others did, but he was not one to mope. Grandma told me it was the most decisive thing he ever did, apparently planning for his and his wife’s wedding made her want to murder the two. And it takes a lot to make her want to do that!”

He shrugged painfully and both went quiet for a moment.

“...This has a purpose ya know. It has a big reason to why we’re doing what we are doing. Why we only take kids and all the adults stay home...Did I ever tell you about how Nightmare and I met?”

Henry looked at her and shook his head.

“Well, when I was about....eight or something, I’d always explore the woods. Loved to play with Flutterfires, look at bugs, watch clouds, you know that kinda stuff. One day about...Spring going into Summer I was doing my normal stuff when I heard crying. Wasn’t a kid crying or anything like that, certainly was any Flutter I ever heard so I was nervous. I avoided the big dragons so I thought I might get dad, maybe a dragon was hurt or something, but I didn’t want to just get him and it was a false alarm or such, so thought I take a peak at first.”

Nightmare moaned at the memory as she came over and cuddled up close to her human, head on lap. Crys began to pet as she continued the story.

“What I found...was an adult Skyrunner...dead...and a little purple hatchling crying near the head, shaking and do her best to wake the big dragon up to no avail. It was a little after grandpa had died too so I knew what it was like to lose family, so I came out of the bushes. Little baby was scared at first, tried to be terrifying a moment later, and then smacked herself into the base of a tree after that trying to climb it.”

Nightmare opened one eye to roll it.

“Oh she tries to deny it but she was such a klutz back in the day. Nightmare and I... our eyes then met and well...it felt...sounds cheesy, but it felt like something snapped into place. That I was whole....The Flutters and I buried the adult...Nighty’s mom and when it was dark I came back to town with little old her in my arms. My dad was furious as he began to organize search parties to go looking for me, that something terrible happened, then he saw me covered in dirt holding a baby dragon who didn’t want to let go, not even for an alpha. That night and many since, she slept with me in my bed until she got too big...well officially, isn’t that right princess?”

Crys gave her loving scratches.

“I have no doubt Night would’ve suffered the same fate as Toothless did if I hadn’t stepped in. Gotten under the queen’s control and be at the mercy of people who didn’t understand. Who never wanted to....Henry...what do you consider Snoggletog now? Knowing what you do, I mean.”

The runaway thought for a moment.

“...Not an easy question to answer. Always saw it as...just some holiday. Where we didn’t have to worry about being woken up in the middle of the night...where my dad and I were civil and we’d have dinner together before the big party. Next to Stump Day it was harmless-“

“Stump Day? You celebrate tree stumps?”

“No!” He vehemently denied as she began to laugh.

“We celebrate people who lost limbs. Means they were great warriors.”

“Ewww. How did they manage that?”

“Well one of my dad’s friends said a dragon ate his arm and leg. Said the dragon enjoyed it.”

Both Toothless and Nightmare pinned their ears and looked equally disgusted.

“Gross! Dragons hate human flesh! They throw it up almost immediately! Nearly had my Digger wretch a chunk of some poor guy on me when I was cleaning his teeth.”

Henry laughed a little at that.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Though I think quite a few people will be disappointed to hear that.” He joked.

“And here I thought you viking guys couldn’t get any weirder.”

“Says the girl who took in dragons as pets.”

“Nightmare is no pet, she’s my princess thank you very much. And Digger, Driller, and Daisy come and go as they please.”

Henry then gazed at Toothless’ missing tailfin, brow knitting.

“Hey Look! The first little ones! Right there by that sea stack!” Crys then cried, pointing to a not so far off column of rock.

Indeed there was a family of Onehearts, a mother and a dozen or so children making a quick nest for the night before heading off to who knows where. The babies were flapping, playing, and wrestling in mid air. And a trio of them seemed to be ganging up on a much smaller one, inching closer to the edge.

“Oh no....she had a runt... they’re picking them off early. Onehearts can be very cruel...”

To Henry’s then absolute horror, the bigger ones then pushed the tiner one of their brood over the edge, down to the ocean below, their mother not even caring.

It was like his body moved on his own, the pain all but forgotten as the runt himself dived overboard into the ocean. He always lied, put off his swimming as amateur or even not knowing how. But he could. And he was damn good at it. Was even mentioned by Mulch to his father that he could, in the man’s words “could go faster in water than any arrow through the air.”

His dad never believed it and called the fishermen drunk.

Shame he couldn’t see him now. Would’ve probably taken it all back, seeing his runt of his son speed through the ocean and grab the sinking baby Oneheart, thrusting both his and the two dragon heads to the surface.

“I got ya big guy. You’re gonna be okay.”

The poor thing was squirming, utterly confused at what got them and most likely thinking a predator, not a crazy human in the middle of nowhere.

And it made the entire thing worse when Henry was grabbed by the waist and hoisted from the air.

“You moron! Why the ever loving-You know what I’m going to yell at you when we’re on the boat!”

Both teenager and baby dragon were deposited, cold and shivering back on deck as Nightmare set down on the other side of the mast. Toothless immediately rushed over, wrapping his wings around his human and the child.

“Why the ever loving fuck did you do that!”

“...I...I couldn’t stand by...He’s a hiccup...just like me.”

It was then Rhika poked her head from below deck.

“What’s with the yelling?”

“Henry jumped in the bloody ocean!”

“He did what!”

The baby dragon was so scared and so cold. It didn’t know what was going one as it began to cry huge tears from both sets of eyes.

“Hey...hey big guy. It’s okay...Tooth and I aren’t gonna hurt ya. We weren’t wanted either.” Henry soothed, stroking the heads in the embrace of the warm, webby wings.

“Bigger vikings used...to push me off cliffs too.”

The cold was starting to get to him. He knew the signs of hypothermia. He had to keep himself awake.

“I’m....a hiccup too...a runt. Not sure if Tooth was ever small but...”

He started hearing small purrs from the dragon as the tears began to dry.

“There ya go...we need to stay together...It’s the Sunset...way....”

Perhaps a small nap wouldn’t hurt. Just a...quick snooze. Swimming always wore him out.

“Hen! Hiccup, you stay with me here, you arse! No falling asleep, you hear me!”

The baby dragon must’ve felt that something was wrong too as the tiny Zippleback snuggled up and doings its best to keep him warm along with Toothless.

Two heads rested on each side of his own and purred. The little one understood what happened.

And was thankful to the one who saved them.

One tiny heart beat against Henry’s chest and he was wrapped in blankets, the baby dragon falling asleep after its grand adventure and daring rescue.

The hypothermia was averted but left in its wake a horrid cold. Henry almost didn’t get to help the rest of the way were it not for the herb medicine and the soup practically force fed to him by Nix and Rhika. He had just enough strength to be on deck, leaning against Toothless most of the time, to see them break the fog and gaze upon the wonder of Nesting Ground Springs.

“Gorgeous, ain’t it?” Ryuu asked, nudging his ribs with an elbow.

“We’ll dunk you in one of the cooler pools, that’ll clear ya right up. They’re the ones that eggs don’t get rolled into.”

“The eggs get rolled into what?”

His question was answered when they came to shore and seeing baby Stonetails emerging from steaming pods of water randomly dotted around. The kids were ecstatic, the older ones racing to their family dragons and ones they know. The younger were hiding behind Crys who showed them a few she knew.

The healer’s daughter began to fill many pots full of the steaming water, with help of Rhika and Rosemary, a few of her own hatchlings in tow.

“Mom likes to use this stuff for her medicine. She says it’s purer than any river water and short of Blizzard mountain, the best place to get it.” She explained.

When introductions were done and love shared between human and dragon did the fun start. Children diving into warm pools, playing with equally happy baby dragons, Ryuu and Yuichi having a grand old time pushing people in and getting chased by an irate Crys, and the new baby dragon sticking to Henry like glue and clearly confused on why they were there again.

Said savior was sitting on an edge of another tube like pool and enjoying the humidity.

“We gotta name you something.” He sniffed.

The two heads looked at him.

“Well, can’t call you baby or them the entire time. Gotta have a name. A good one. Sneeze and Wheeze? Nah just remind me I nearly died saving you....Splash and Crash?”

The Oneheart heads looked at each other and made a cat sort of noise.

“Not thrilled with it either? Hm....PowPow. You know like a couple of punches. Your heads certainly felt like punches when you’re flailing around.”

Henry felt tenderly around the various bruises left by said heads.

“Oh don’t give me that look. I get enough from your new brother.”

Seems they didn’t need any help from Nightmare or Crys. Powpow already knew how to pout and two heads doing it at the same time was borderline illegal in his opinion.

“I already forgave you. You were scared. But now, no bullying from bigger siblings, no fighting over mealtime, and no worrying about predators. I know the perfect place where you can grow up, Pow.”

The heads chirped.

“Yep. Little island not too far from here called Sunset. You’re gonna love it there. I do.”

The first thing Henry experienced when he stepped off the boat onto Sunset’s dock several days later was the squeeze and cracking of his ribs by the younger priestess.

“I’m so proud of you! I knew you’d have a good time! Wait a minute....”

She felt his forehead. It always took him a solid week to get over a cold, wasn’t surprised if he was still a bit warm.

“You’re sick?”

Crys grinned as she watched.

“Crys....don’t-“ Henry stated hoarsely.

“Yeah, funny story about that...”

There was a shy nudge at the priestess’ legs. She looked down.

“You....you bonded with one?” She then asked.

“If....you want to call it that yeah. Meet Powpow.”

“He’s....so tiny. I love him!”

Henry couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah...I love him too.”

The priestess let go and fawned over the new member of their family.

“We’re gonna give you your own nest and robes and, oh you are just too precious!”

Powpow beamed more than any dragon could at all the attention and began to hop around.

“I say, that one seems to be a bit of a runt.” Ace stated as he came up to his apprentice.

“He was pushed out by the bigger ones.”

The governor nodded sagely.

“And let me guess, you did something foolish and saved the poor thing?”

Henry scowled and began to look for Crys when he caught site of the impish grin on the man’s face.

“You! You were-“ The apprentice began.

“Don’t think me a complete fool, Henry. I always shadow the trip. I would’ve swooped in myself were it not for Crys’ quick thinking. I suspect she knows I do it too but don’t tell the other children. Far as anyone is concerned, you got into a bit of a wrestling match with one of the boys and went overboard. Happens all the time.”

Ace then gave him a knowing nudge.

“Maybe when I finally retire, you’ll be the one to shadow your children on the journey. Your little dip was hardly the worst thing that’s happened. When Crystal’s kids were on it, woo boy. That was a nightmare.”

Said dragon perked her ears.

“Not you, Night. Now let’s get every one at the square and let you all be fussed over by every old woman in town. It’s time for you hatchlings to receive your rewards for bravery.”

“Our what?”

Turns out their “rewards” were just glorified presents. Given as they came back “heroes” of the dragon world by helping so many orphaned and surrendered dragon children to a place where they’ll be safe, far from the queen and far from the war.

The rewards also extended to Henry as well as a pile of gifts basically drowned him and Powpow. They included:

A new journal, a waterskin, honey rolls, chocolate, new boots, a carving of toothless, new clothes, various new tools, and of course,

A wood medal on a string.

Henry looked at it puzzled while his master laughed.

“It’s tradition, my boy. My sister made me one after our little escapade as a reminder never to do it again. My mother thought it fitting we give one for the first trip across.”

“So...the story is true? You really did find the island on accident?” Henry then asked.

“Oh yes. My sister hates this festival and the fact I’m immortalized for doing something stupid in her mind. So as a way of making it even, we have a tournament in spring to celebrate how she rushes into battle and nearly gets herself killed. Only fair.”

“You....have celebrations just to make fun of each other?”

Ace laughed.

“Oh my dear boy, we aren’t the only ones. Let me tell you about a little party on the continent called the Festival of Fools.”

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, just a one shot of how Sunset celebrates around the Winter Solstice.
> 
> And hey, who doesn’t love baby dragons!


End file.
